Manchester UK area
538,330.09 dollars for this
Posted on 01/10/2008 7:01:22 AM PST by fweingart
For the first time in more than a century the standard of living in Britain is higher than in America, according to a new report.
Analysts at the respected Oxford Economics consultancy say that increasing incomes, free healthcare and longer holidays make the average Briton better-off than his or her US counterpart.
The GDP per head in the UK is expected to exceed that of the USA in 2008 They predict that gross domestic product (GDP) per head in the UK, an indicator of average incomes, will be £23,500 in 2008, compared with £23,250 in America, reflecting the strength of the pound against the dollar and the steady growth of the British economy.
Adrian Cooper, managing director of Oxford Economics, said: "The past 15 years have seen a dramatic change in the UK's economic performance and its position in the world economy.
"No longer are we the 'sick man of Europe'. Indeed, our calculations suggest that UK living standards are now a match for those of the US.
"The UK has been catching up steadily with living standards in the US since 2001, so it is a well-established trend rather than simply the result of currency fluctuations."
advertisementBack in the early 1990s Britain's GDP per capita was 34 per cent below that in America, 33 per cent less than in Germany and 26 per cent lower than in France.
Now, average incomes are not only above those in America but they are more than 8 per cent higher than in France where it is £21,700 and Germany, with a predicted £21,665.
The British financial services boom and soaring house prices have led to an uninterrupted expansion, credited with boosting the UK's strength. And in contrast America and many European countries slid into recession in the early part of this decade.
However the average British person may not feel richer than their US cousins as goods and services there are often vastly cheaper. So, despite earning less, the average American can buy more.
The report authors also warn that a significant fall in the pound against other currencies could push Britain back down the ladder.
Citigroup, the most accurate forecaster of Britain's economy last year, predicts the slowest rise in consumer spending this year since 1992.
Michael Saunders, Citigroup's UK economist, said: "After the credit-fuelled boom in domestic demand and asset prices, the UK economy now faces a hangover, with slowing credit growth, falling property prices and tightening lending standards."
Exactly. bttt
I was talking to a girl I knew when she was young. She ran off to France and married a Fwench guy, had two children. She back in the States getting a divorce. They lived in London, and were making $400K/yr. She said they never hardly went out and were just getting by.
Pay-as-you-go dental care is probbably more expensive in the U.S. because most employers provide dental as well as health insurance. (So the dentists increase their prices, LOL)
Anyone who’s on Medicaid (ACCHS in AZ) also gets dental coverage. Most dental plans cover a big chunk of orthodontic work, too.
If you look at kids in U.S. middle schools and high schools, most of them wear braces at one time or another.
A guide to UK prices for common cosmetic dental treatments
Teeth Whitening £300.00 - £1000.00
Dental Veneers £300.00 - £2000.000 per tooth
Dental Crowns £300.00 - £2000.00 per tooth
Dental Implants £1200 - £2500.00 per tooth
Dental Bridges £250 - £800 per unit
Gum Contouring from £400.00
CEREC restorations from £400.00 per unit
Invisalign £3000.00 - £6000.00
So double the numbers as a rough and ready dollar conversion and - well, we probably don’t have enough data points to make a good comparison. But it seems similar. Anybody else with a price check?
*snort*
However the average British person may not feel richer than their US cousins as goods and services there are often vastly cheaper. So, despite earning less, the average American can buy more.
Uh...isn't that pretty much the definition of "standard of living?"
Baloney. I’ll take life in this country any day over life in the UK.
538,330.09 dollars for this
Eh, I’m taxed through the nose in the US and what do I have to show for it? Not much. Maybe we should consider the beam in our eye before we point out the mote in Britain’s.
Now let’s not turn this into a Britain-bashing thread.
The Brits have been our most loyal allies in the wars against fascists, communists, and jihadists.
Exactly and the exact reason I think our economy is going to hell in a handbasket fast. Without equity in their house, people have absolutely no discretionary income to spend whatsoever. In a consumer driven economy, well that self explanatory. We are headed for some hard times and if wages don't go up considerably the average Joe is forked bad
I don’t agree with this.
If you removed the illegals slums and other historical laggards here from the stats
and did the same in the UK
Our median income would dwarf their’s.
So much of their standard of living is dole.
The price of that house in Manchester seems comparable to a similar house in the Seattle area. It looks like a very nice, upper-middle-class house with a big lot, and you could easily pay $538,000 or more for a similar house here. I’m not sure why the author points to the soaring cost of housing as a good thing; if it is, it’s only good for those who already have a house.
And what about our muslims? They may get jealous and threaten to leave our cities for the UK.
Don't mistakenly believe we aren't inundated by muslim hordes.
I’m a dental hygienist in the US. From what I hear, the UK employs “dental hygiene technicians” who not only clean teeth, but are also permitted to drill and fill teeth. In the US, and expanded duties dental hygienists and assistants are permitted to fill teeth, but it must be the dentist who does the drilling. Some states in the US also permit the hygienist to administer local anesthesia, i.e. “novocaine.”
WOW! 700 square feet is the size of a small apartment.
We own a 2,000k sf home with a good sized yard, upscale kitchen and two baths (granite counters, gourmet appliances, blah, blah). Current market value is between $400k ande $350k.
$538,000 will buy what’s considered a luxury home in most areas of Phoenix AZ.
Dunno, but this article is BS.
According to any leftist that does a study like this,
more socialism = higher living standard
Think how much better our country would be if we could dump the liberal, socialist Democrats and their Republican allies into the Potomac along with the legions of lifers that staff their offices and do the hard work of writing all the freaking bills that ruin our lives and help destroy our country and our economy.
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